IDENTIFYING ETHICAL DILEMMAS OF TOC/CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

The way professionals deal with ethical dilemmas and the decisions they make may be guided by a personal and individual ideology, but these are also strongly influenced by their professional group and society. The focus in this paper is on situations as experienced by individuals in their day-to-day professional life. The data were collected with opened-end interviews. Respondents were asked to identify the ethical dilemmas they had been faced with during their professional life. Qualitative analysis shows that main dilemmas are about how to deal with “informal economy”, “false invoices” and “tax evasion”. This study aims to contribute to the discussion of ethical issues faced by TOC, thus promoting a large debate about the way TOC can help create a better society and consequently legitimating their existence as a professional organization of public interest.

A Feedback Learning and Mental Models Perspective on Strategic Decision Making

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term success. We present a set of hypotheses about the influence of feedback information and systems thinking facilitation on mental models and management performance. We explore, under controlled conditions, the role of mental models in terms of structure and behaviour. A test based on a simulation experiment with a system dynamics model was performed. Three out of the four hypotheses were confirmed. Causal diagramming positively influences mental model structure similarity, mental model structure similarity positively influences mental model behaviour similarity, and mental model behaviour similarity positively influences the quality of the decision.

A Feedback Learning and Mental Models Perspective on Strategic Decision Making

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term success. We present a set of hypotheses about the influence of feedback information and systems thinking facilitation on mental models and management performance. We explore, under controlled conditions, the role of mental models in terms of structure and behaviour. A test based on a simulation experiment with a system dynamics model was performed. Three out of the four hypotheses were confirmed. Causal diagramming positively influences mental model structure similarity, mental model structure similarity positively influences mental model behaviour similarity, and mental model behaviour similarity positively influences the quality of the decision

Personalidade e agressividade : um estudo em militares de protecção e socorro

RESUMO: A protecção e socorro é das missões mais recentes na instituição militar em Portugal, nomeadamente a intervenção em catástrofes. As características têm um papel decisivo, pois podem condicionar de forma determinante o sucesso da missão. O discernimento do indivíduo é imperativo nas situações, não pode haver erros, pois os custos humanos e económicos são demasiado elevados. Foi estudada uma amostra de 535 militares oportugueses de uma força de elite helitransportada que actua em catástrofes, em que a média de idades é de 28 anos (DP=4,4), tendo o militar mais novo 20 anos e o mais velho 49 anos. O escalão etário mais representado é o escalão dos 26-30 anos que compreende 52,7% desta força militar operacional. Para esta investigação utilizámos como medidas de avaliação o Inventário de Personalidade Neo revisto, NEOPI-R (Costa & McCrae 1992), o Questionário de Agressividade, AQ (Buss & Perry, 1992)e a Escala de Desejabilidade Social de Paulhus, PDS (Paulhus, 1998) para aceder à relação entre personalidade, agressividade e desejabilidade social em militares de protecção e socorro. Conclui-se que os militares de protecção e socorro demonstram valores elevados de conscienciosidade e valores mais baixos ao nível do domínio do neuroticismo. Demonstraram resultados mais elevados na dimensão Gestão da imagem e mais baixos na dimensão de Auto apresentação favorável. Apresentam ainda níveis de agressividade física bastante elevados e níveis de irritabilidade mais baixos. ABSTRACT: Rescue and protection is one of the latest missions in the Military Corps in Portugal, namely the Disaster Intervention. It depends directly on individual characteristics such as personality and how the military deal with extreme and tension situations. These characteristics have a decisive role, as they contribute to the success of decisive missions. The discernment of the individual is imperative in situations where there can be mistakes, because the human and economic costs are too high. The studied sample consisted of 535 soldiers of the military Portuguese Protection and Rescue, an elite force heliborne, where the average age is 28 years (DP=4,4 years), having the younger military 20 years and the oldest 49 years. The age group most represented is the level 26-30 years comprising 52.7% of this military operational force. In order to make this investigation we used the following measures : the Neo Personality Inventory Revised, NEOPI-R (costa & McCrae, 1992), the Agression Questionnaire, AQ (Buss & Perry, 1992), and the Paulhus Deception Scale, PDS (Paulhus, 1998) to access the relationship between personality, aggressiveness and social desirability in Rescue and Protection Military. It is concluded that Rescue and Protection military show high values of conscientiousness and lower values of neuroticism. They also show higher scores on the impression management and lower scores on the Self-Deceptive Enhancement dimension. Subjects also present high levels of physical aggression and lower levels of anger.

Algumas técnicas SIG úteis à obtenção de áreas de serviço de conjuntos de pontos

Em estudos de acessibilidade, e não só, são muito úteis um tipo de estruturas que se podem obter a partir de uma rede, eventualmente multi-modal e parametrizável: as chamadas “áreas de serviço”, as quais são constituídas por polígonos, cada qual correspondente a uma zona situada entre um certo intervalo de custo, relativamente a uma certa “feature” (ponto, multiponto, etc.). Pretende-se neste estudo obter, a partir de áreas de serviço relativas a um universo de features, áreas de serviço relativas a subconjuntos dessas features. Estas técnicas envolvem manipulações relativamente complexas de polígonos e podem ser generalizadas para conjuntos de conjuntos e assim sucessivamente. Convém notar que nem sempre se dispõe da rede, podendo dispor-se das referidas estruturas; eventualmente, no caso de áreas de serviço, sob a forma de imagens (raster) a serem convertidas para formato vectorial.

Tuning Iris Recognition for Noisy Images

The use of iris recognition for human authentication has been spreading in the past years. Daugman has proposed a method for iris recognition, composed by four stages: segmentation, normalization, feature extraction, and matching. In this paper we propose some modifications and extensions to Daugman's method to cope with noisy images. These modifications are proposed after a study of images of CASIA and UBIRIS databases. The major modification is on the computationally demanding segmentation stage, for which we propose a faster and equally accurate template matching approach. The extensions on the algorithm address the important issue of pre-processing that depends on the image database, being mandatory when we have a non infra-red camera, like a typical WebCam. For this scenario, we propose methods for reflection removal and pupil enhancement and isolation. The tests, carried out by our C# application on grayscale CASIA and UBIRIS images show that the template matching segmentation method is more accurate and faster than the previous one, for noisy images. The proposed algorithms are found to be efficient and necessary when we deal with non infra-red images and non uniform illumination.

Cognitive deficit and depressive symptoms in a community group of elderly people: a preliminary study

Since the number and proportion of old people increases worldwide, health professionals and systems should be made aware and prepared to deal with their problems. Cognitive deficit and symptoms of depression are commom among the elderly, and may occur in relation to various risk factors such as health conditions and psychosocial variables. In order to study cognitive deficit and the presence of signs and symptoms of depression, 62 elderly community subjects enrolled at a Community Health Unit in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, were interviewed. They were evaluated by means of the Mini Mental State Exam, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression rating scale, and a questionnaire on health conditions, living arrangements and social variables. Higher levels of symptoms of depression were observed among subjects exposed to major risk factors for cerebrovascular diseases (diabetes and coronary disease), while impaired cognitive performance was seen among individuals who could not count on the presence of a confidant (social network variable). The results suggest that the early identification of major risk groups among old people can help to prevent institutionalization and keep individuals in the community.

Aspectos psicossociais associados à percepção da dor pós-operatória em indivíduos submetidos a cirurgia coronária

Objectivo: Identificar os factores psicossociais que influenciam a percepção da dor pós-operatória em doentes submetidos a cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio (CRM). Material e Métodos: Estudo exploratório correlacional de 91 doentes (71 homens e 20 mulheres) submetidos a CRM (pontagem aortocoronária) por esternotomia). A idade média era de 63,8 ± 9,6 anos (entre 39 e 84). Foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Escala Analógica Visual às 24, 48 e 96 horas do pós-operatório; Questionário de Caracterização Demográfica; Mental Health Inventory de 5 itens; Percepção de Saúde Geral (SF-36); Escala de Expectativas de Dor; Escala de Percepção de Apoio; Escala de Expectativas de Auto-eficácia; Satisfação com o tratamento, médicos e enfermeiros (American Pain Society Questionnaire) aplicados às 96 horas após a cirurgia. Resultados: Os doentes que apresentaram expectativas elevadas de dor, percepcionaram maior apoio, apresentaram níveis elevados de auto-eficácia para lidar com a dor ou, se pertenciam ao sexo masculino, sentiram menos dor. De igual modo, os doentes que apresentaram melhor saúde mental, percepcionaram a sua saúde como boa e os doentes que expressaram maior satisfação com o tratamento sentiram menos dor. A dor não foi influenciada pela idade, grau de escolaridade ou pela satisfação com a conduta de médicos e enfermeiros. Conclusão: Após as primeiras 48 horas do pós-operatório, a experiência de dor é influenciada por factores psicossociais, em oarticular pela expectativa de dor, expectativa de auto-eficácia, apoio percebido, percepção da saúde geral, percepção de saúde mental e satisfação com o tratamento para a dor. Perante os resultados, evidencia-se a necessidade de conjugar conhecimentos no sentido de dar respostas mais alargadas e de carácter multidisciplinar no tratamento da dor pós-operatória em CRM devendo, a par de outros aspectos, focar-se na gestão das expectativas dos doentes. ABSTRACT - Objective: To identify the psychological factors that influence post-surgery pain perception in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Methods: This was an exploratory correlational study of 91 patients (71 men and 20 women) who underwent CABG (aortocoronary anastomosis) by sternotomy. Mean age was 63.8 ± 9.6 years (between 39 and 84). The following instruments were used: visual analogical scales at 24, 48 and 96 hours of post-surgery; demographic characteristics survey; pain expectations scale; perceived support scale; self-efficacy scale, Mental Inventory (5 items); health perception scale; and satisfaction with treatment, doctors and nurses (American Pain Society questionnaire) at 96 hours after surgery. Results: Patients who had presented high expectations of pain, perceived more support, presented high levels of self-efficacy to deal with pain or were male, felt less pain. Furthermore, patients who presented better mental health, perceived their general health as being good, or expressed greater satisfaction with treatment, felt less pain. Pain was not influenced by age, level of education or satisfaction with doctors and nurses. Conclusion: After the first 48 hours following surgery, the pain experience is influenced by psychosocial factors, in particular by expectation of pain and of self-efficacy, perceived support, perception of general and mental health, and satisfaction with pain treatment. The results confirm the need to bring together different kinds of knowledge for a broad, multidisciplinary approach to postoperative CABG pain treatment, focusing, along with other aspects, on management of patients’ expectations.

Implementação de sistemas da qualidade numa empresa de transporte rodoviário fraccionado de mercadorias: indicadores de competitividade

A certificação deixou de ser “apenas” uma vantagem competitiva para passar a ser um critério seleccionador de empresas diferenciando-as das concorrentes. O conceito de melhoria contínua subjacente à norma ISO 9001 transmite para o mercado a imagem de empresas capazes de satisfazer e superar as exigências dos clientes, direccionando todos os colaboradores para esse objectivo comum. O sector dos Transportes aderiu em força a esta inovação mostrando interesse em melhorar a qualidade do serviço prestado e dos processos. O objectivo deste estudo é contribuir para a avaliação da implementação do Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade (SGQ) ISO 9001:2008 numa empresa de Transportes rodoviários de mercadorias porta a porta (TRMPP) – também designado por Transporte Fraccionado de Mercadorias. Elaborou-se um questionário a clientes construindo-se os indicadores de forma a identificar pontos fortes e pontos fracos no sentido da melhoria contínua da qualidade. Destacam-se a competitividade relativamente às devoluções, grau de satisfação relativamente à competitividade geral, classificação do serviço prestado pelos motoristas/ ajudantes. Conclui-se que a principal razão que levou a empresa a implementar o SGQ foi a necessidade de responder a alguns requisitos nomeadamente concursos públicos onde implicitamente existem indicadores de satisfação dos clientes e outros de melhoria da qualidade do produto/serviço. Durante o processo de implementação do SGQ, surgiram dificuldades relacionadas essencialmente com o tempo necessário para tratar de burocracias e com os custos da Qualidade. Concluiu-se ainda que a Gestão de topo, os Directores e os Chefes de Secção, são os principais responsáveis pela detecção e correcção de não conformidades, bem como a empresa que implementou novos métodos de motivação dos colaboradores, destacando a formação e a comunicação.

A hybrid approach to multi-agent decision-making

In the aftermath of a large-scale disaster, agents' decisions derive from self-interested (e.g. survival), common-good (e.g. victims' rescue) and teamwork (e.g. fire extinction) motivations. However, current decision-theoretic models are either purely individual or purely collective and find it difficult to deal with motivational attitudes; on the other hand, mental-state based models find it difficult to deal with uncertainty. We propose a hybrid, CvI-JI, approach that combines: i) collective 'versus' individual (CvI) decisions, founded on the Markov decision process (MDP) quantitative evaluation of joint-actions, and ii)joint-intentions (JI) formulation of teamwork, founded on the belief-desire-intention (BDI) architecture of general mental-state based reasoning. The CvI-JI evaluation explores the performance's improvement

Good deals in markets with frictions

This paper studies a portfolio choice problem such that the pricing rule may incorporate transaction costs and the risk measure is coherent and expectation bounded. We will prove the necessity of dealing with pricing rules such that there exists an essentially bounded stochastic discount factor, which must be also bounded from below by a strictly positive value. Otherwise good deals will be available to traders, i.e., depending on the selected risk measure, investors can build portfolios whose (risk, return) will be as close as desired to (−infinity, infinity) or (0, infinity). This pathologic property still holds for vector risk measures (i.e., if we minimize a vector valued function whose components are risk measures). It is worthwhile to point out that essentially bounded stochastic discount factors are not usual in financial literature. In particular, the most famous frictionless, complete and arbitrage free pricing models imply the existence of good deals for every coherent and expectation bounded (scalar or vector) measure of risk, and the incorporation of transaction costs will not guarantee the solution of this caveat.

Constructing good deals in discrete time arbitrage-free dynamic pricing models

Recent literature has proved that many classical pricing models (Black and Scholes, Heston, etc.) and risk measures (V aR, CV aR, etc.) may lead to “pathological meaningless situations”, since traders can build sequences of portfolios whose risk leveltends to −infinity and whose expected return tends to +infinity, i.e., (risk = −infinity, return = +infinity). Such a sequence of strategies may be called “good deal”. This paper focuses on the risk measures V aR and CV aR and analyzes this caveat in a discrete time complete pricing model. Under quite general conditions the explicit expression of a good deal is given, and its sensitivity with respect to some possible measurement errors is provided too. We point out that a critical property is the absence of short sales. In such a case we first construct a “shadow riskless asset” (SRA) without short sales and then the good deal is given by borrowing more and more money so as to invest in the SRA. It is also shown that the SRA is interested by itself, even if there are short selling restrictions.

Tools for testing the Solvency Capital Requirement for life insurance

Longevity risk is one of the major risks that an insurance company or a pension fund has to deal with and it is expected that its importance will grow in the near future. In agreement with these considerations, in Solvency II regulation the Standard formula furnished for calculating the Solvency Capital Requirement explicitly considers this kind of risk. According to the new European rules in our paper we suggest a multiperiod approach to evaluate the SCR for longevity risk. We propose a backtesting framework for measuring the consistency of SCR calculations for life insurance policies.

A importância do programa preliminar e do projecto no âmbito da contratação pública

O Código dos contratos públicos (CCP) veio introduzir alguns novos conceitos, nas empreitadas de obras públicas, sobre erros e omissões e também sobre trabalhos a mais. Tais conceitos têm estado na origem de algumas polémicas envolvendo donos de obra, projectistas, fiscalizações, empreiteiros e técnicos. Por outro, quer à luz da anterior legislação quer ao abrigo da actual os desvios de preço e prazo, em empreitadas de obras públicas, continuam a ser frequentes, dir-se-á mesmo, praticamente uma constante e frequentemente alvo nos meios de comunicação. No âmbito desta dissertação pretende-se partilhar algumas reflexões emergentes da observação efectuada, como participante activo em diversos empreendimentos. Verificar-se-á ao longo da mesma dissertação que nela é atribuída grande relevância ao programa preliminar constante do Anexo I à Portaria n.º 701-H/2008 de 29 de Julho, que dá origem ao projecto. Com efeito, este documento embora a sua designação de preliminar possa induzir em erro, levando a conferir-lhe pouca importância, é, em boa verdade, o programa fundamental, para um bom entendimento entre o dono de obra e o projectista e subsequentemente com o empreiteiro. Nesta dissertação faz-se uma incursão pelos conteúdos mais relevantes do CCP, no âmbito dos desvios de preço e custo, das empreitadas de obras públicas. Procede-se, também, a uma análise detalhada e sequencial das fases e actividades que contribuem para a concretização de uma obra pública, observando simultaneamente o papel dos diversos intervenientes.

The role of Lifelong Learning in the creation of a knowledge-based society for Europe: european policies

Link do editor: http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/role-lifelong-learning-creation-european/13314